Opposite
by Bottle Glass
Summary: When there's nothing else, there is us. AU. NejiTen, SasuSaku, NaruHina, KibaIno.
1. Patience

**disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.**

**a/n: If Sasuke comes out a little harsh and cold, I'm just trying to make him IC. If he comes out OOC, then that means I failed. Sorry, Sasuke fans!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: Patience<strong>

"Sasuke, it's your win already," said Sakura, tugging on his arm. "Back up. Come on."

Sasuke forced himself to his feet and staggered back, wiping the blood trailing from his mouth. Sakura leaned him on Naruto, who supported him wordlessly.

"Are you kidding?" interrupted Tenten angrily, locking eyes with Sakura. "Uchiha didn't win. Neji did."

Sakura scowled and opened her mouth to retort, but before she could let loose with her infamous temper and sharp tongue, Sasuke caught her eyes and nailed her with a look that clearly read: _'Speak and I will kill you.'_

Sakura looked like she wanted to punch him in the face, but she acknowledged his unspoken threat and said nothing as Sasuke pushed away from Naruto to speak. "Next time, Hyuga."

Neji got to his feet, touching his bruising eye almost gingerly. White-violet eyes met onyx ones as he focused on Sasuke, his voice rough from a hit to the throat. "Anytime, Uchiha."

* * *

><p>"Sasuke, let me take care of your arm," demanded Sakura as the trio made their way back out of neutral territory and back to their side of town.<p>

"It's fine, Sakura," snapped Sasuke, jerking his hand back from hers before she could examine it. "I don't care if it's fractured."

Sakura got in front of him, setting her hands on her hips as Sasuke repressed the urge to roll his eyes at her _infuriating_ insistence. "So? _I_ care if it's fractured, okay?" she bit out furiously.

"Why're you so angry, Sakura?" asked Naruto cautiously. He knew better than to openly provoke Sakura when it was obvious that she was seriously pissed. "It was just a fight."

"One that he could have lost," answered Sakura, keeping her eyes on Sasuke's. She watched him stiffen at her words, obviously displeased that she thought he could have lost to Hyuga Neji.

"I wouldn't have lost," spat Sasuke, his eyes hardening.

"Tell me that when you manage to have a fight that _doesn't_ end in a draw," muttered Sakura. "Everyone knows that you two have been head-to-head for forever."

Sasuke's fingers on his good hand were under her chin and tilting it up to look at him in an instant, his infamously fast reflexes quicker than Sakura could track with her eyes. "I wouldn't have lost," repeated Sasuke, his cool mask slipping off as his eyes blazed angrily.

Only Sakura could make him lose his control like that.

And Naruto too, but only in the heat of an argument. To Sasuke, it seemed like Sakura just got under his skin with whatever she said. He was beginning to question his own judgment in recklessly saying 'yes' to allow her to join the Wolves this morning—and wondered if it was too late to take it back. All day he had had to put up with her, and he was dangerously close to snapping.

Sakura's rebellious emerald eyes studied him, completely unafraid. "If it had gone on any longer, you would have passed out from exhaustion," she said.

Sasuke let her go, his hand dropping a moment later than was necessary. His jaw was set as he ordered, "Go home, Sakura. You're not coming to our side tonight." He began to turn away, Naruto looking at him strangely but saying nothing.

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Like hell I am!"

Sasuke rounded on her, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Don't argue with me, Sakura!"

She fell silent, just looking at him wordlessly. "Want to tell me why I can't come tonight?" she asked eventually, when he didn't speak again.

"No. Do not make me repeat myself."

Naruto was watching Sasuke, looking concerned. "Teme..."

Sasuke ignored him. "Go home, Sakura."

And then he was gone.

* * *

><p>"THAT STUPID JERK!" shrieked Sakura, pummeling Naruto because he was the only one near enough to take her anger out on.<p>

"Ouch—Ouch, Sakura—Sakura, take it easy, I—OW—!"

When she was finished, Naruto looked almost as bad as Sasuke had after his brawl with Neji.

"Temperamental much?" complained Naruto, rubbing at the bump on his head and fingering the bruises on his arms and face.

Now that Sakura had cooled down a bit, she realized that they were still in neutral territory, and that was not good. Neutral territory meant that good ANBU police were in control there, and good ANBU in control of a certain part of town meant that sooner or later she and Naruto were going to get caught for being out after Konoha's curfew. The fact that they were both wearing the symbol of one of the gangs that had taken over Konoha would certainly not endear them to the police who would, doubtless, turn them in.

"Naruto, we're—"

"—still in neutral territory. I know," he finished for her, turning away and motioning for her to follow him with a grin. "Come on. The teme would kill me if anything happened to you, so I'll take you to your place before heading over to Sasuke's district."

As they slipped down alleys, avoiding possible police cars on patrol, Sakura spoke. "Why was Sasuke being such a prick today? You heard him say this morning that I could come over and meet everyone tonight, didn't you?"

Naruto was uncharacteristically silent as he jumped over a trashcan blocking their way, almost as if he were trying to choose his words before responding to her question.

Sakura knew that that notion was stupid. Naruto said what he wanted to. He didn't have a filter like most people.

Sometimes, it made her wonder how Naruto and Sasuke could be such close friends. If Naruto had no filter at all, then Sasuke had a filter that worked _too_ well. It had crossed Sakura's mind more than once about how a relationship between best friends like that—one who talked too much and one who talked too little—could possibly work. But somehow, Naruto and Sasuke managed to make it look effortless.

"If I was just looking at the surface, I'd think it was because you pissed him off," said Naruto finally, vaulting over a high fence and sliding out his pocketknife to cut an opening for her to slip through.

"On the surface?" asked Sakura, pushing through the rip he'd made and snagging her jacket on the frayed metal ends. "What do you mean?"

Naruto stopped in the middle of the alley, tilting his head. "You're new, so I guess you haven't noticed, but the teme's kind of..."

Sakura wrinkled her nose, suddenly understanding what he meant. "Kind of like a dark pool? Like you can't really tell what's happening underneath?"

Naruto turned and grinned at her cheekily. "That was almost poetic, Sakura-chan."

She glared. "If you call me Sakura-chan, I'll kick you in the balls."

Naruto grimaced, obviously imagining that she'd most likely make good on her threat, and started walking again.

"So are you telling me that you can tell what's beneath the surface of the great mystery that is Uchiha Sasuke?" called out Sakura, loud enough for Naruto to hear but soft enough not to wake the people living nearby.

Naruto laughed, loud and long. "I wouldn't say it like _that_, but I'm probably better at reading him than most people." He folded his hands behind his head lazily. "And you know what? I think the teme cares about you."

"Should I be happy or sad that Uchiha Sasuke cares about me?" asked Sakura dryly.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't really know. I've just never seen him put up with as much crap as you gave him today in his entire life."

"So I _did_ piss him off."

"HELL, YES! You even made him consider taking back his decision about you!"

Sakura looked baffled. "I did?"

"Yeah! And the teme never doubts anything concerning the gang unless he was actually _thinking_ about it! Wondering if he could kick you off the Wolves means that he'd been considering it for a long, long time—"

Sakura didn't know what to say. "What?" she managed eventually. "He wanted to kick me off? Even though I joined _this morning?"_

Naruto suddenly froze, sensing her mood. "Hey, Sakura, I didn't mean it like that—"

"Then what did you mean?" she asked coolly, reining in her temper.

"Well... The teme always puts the gang first. Even before everything else." Naruto glanced at Sakura to make sure she was listening before continuing, "The moment you asked to be part of the Wolves this morning was the moment you became important to him. Even more important than family."

"Uchiha Sasuke doesn't have a family," said Sakura automatically, still processing Naruto's words.

Naruto's expression flickered strangely before returning to its usual cocky grin. "I wouldn't say that." He exited the alley before turning to look at her. "I think—"

Police sirens started blaring.

And four arms grabbed Naruto and pulled him to the ground before she could react.

"He's wearing the Uchiha symbol!" called a uniformed officer, pinning a struggling Naruto down onto the hood of his patrol car.

Sakura started forward, almost not thinking about the consequences if she was caught too, but Naruto lifted his head and ordered, "NO! Go back! Go _home!"_

Of course, the officer heard him. "He's got a companion!" shouted the officer to his three comrades. "In the alley!"

* * *

><p>Sakura backed away, focused entirely on Naruto and his command. Her mind wasn't processing things the way it normally would because she was still standing there, frozen.<p>

The medically-trained part of Sakura's mind told her that she was going through a mild state of shock.

"Go!" shouted Naruto, practically screaming at her. He didn't dare call her name and risk having it added to the ANBU database by an officer—even _he_ wasn't that stupid.

"You! Put your hands in the air!" ordered a female ANBU, catching sight of Sakura and starting toward her at a swift run.

Sakura found that her body had unfrozen, and she mentally kicked herself for not sprinting forward to help Naruto.

Naruto stilled when he saw the sudden determination in her eyes. He knew that she was about to try something incredibly, unbelievably, dangerously stupid. Something that the teme would be sure to murder him for later. He began warningly, "No—No, don't do it—don't even _think_ about it—"

When Sakura lunged forward to tackle the ANBU officer, Naruto slammed his forehead against the hood of the car in despair. The teme was going to murder _and_ castrate him.

Sakura completely wasn't expecting the officer she'd brought down to suddenly roll over, obviously dead with three senbon sticking out of her neck.

After that, several things happened in quick succession.

Two men in dark cloaks with a red design dropped down from the surrounding rooftops, their bodies a blur as they silently proceeded to kill the rest of the ANBU. The ANBU collapsed one-by-one, their expressions shocked and without time to react in any other form. Sakura almost screamed, before suddenly seeing that Naruto alone had been spared. He had dropped to his knees, staring up at one of the newcomers with a strange expression on his face. It was almost... like recognition and determination mixed into one.

Sakura started forward, only to be blocked by the other man, who sidled in front of her almost lazily. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, pretty girl," drawled the man. The dim light from the streetlamps were reflecting off the man's ice-blue skin, drawing attention to gleaming white shark teeth instead of human ones.

"Kisame, behave," input the other man, who had knocked Naruto out and tossed him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. His long black hair glinted in the light, and his midnight eyes looked disturbingly familiar to Sakura, who shuddered. "We need her healthy enough to run."

The blue-skinned man (Kisame, Sakura reminded herself) grinned and leaned forward, ever so slightly. "Guess I shouldn't get too carried away, then."

Sakura didn't like the sound of that. But Naruto was unconscious and she didn't know what to do. She was _new_ to gang life, dammit!

"You. Girl," called the man with Naruto over his shoulder to Sakura. "Run back to your foolish, foolish leader and tell him what we have done. Now."

When she didn't move, Kisame grabbed the front of her shirt and brought her dangerously close to his face. "Didn't you hear that, girlie? Run back to your Wolf alpha* with your tail between your legs and tell him that we have his beta*. You hear that?" He shook her once, roughly. "Now go, and tell your alpha that we'll be in touch."

He shoved her back into the alley, but when Sakura managed to catch her balance and turn, they were gone. And so was Naruto.

Sakura had never run so fast in her life.

* * *

><p>She pounded on the door to the Wolf hideout, her breath coming in short gasps. It had taken her forever to cross into Wolf territory, and even more time to find the hideout that only its eight members knew. Fortunately, Sasuke had given her a rough sketch of where it was earlier this morning, so it only took Sakura fifteen minutes or more to find it.<p>

A voice came through the door, rough and demanding. "All right, what is it, Naruto? Did you forget your keys again or somethin'? It's freakin' one if the morning—"

"Kiba!" gasped Sakura in relief. She knew Kiba only vaguely from school, but at least she knew his name and his voice. She_ hadn't_ known that he was a Wolf member though. "Kiba, let me in! I have to talk to Sasuke!"

The door creaked open, the sleep-mussed brown hair of Inuzuka Kiba peeking through the crack. "Hey, you're not Naruto. And how do you know my name"—he caught sight of her then, and his eyes widened—"babe," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"I go to school with you," answered Sakura, speaking as fast as she could. "Please let me in!"

"All right, but don't make too much noise," said Kiba, stepping back and letting her pass. "A lot of us are sleeping."

Sakura stepped inside, momentarily startled by the cleanliness and coziness of the place. It didn't seem to compute with what she had been sure was Sasuke's idea of a hideout. This, what she was seeing, was more like a _home_ than anything else.

It was a two-story building; comfortable-looking couches, a blazing fireplace, and a much-loved carpet decorated what was obviously the living room. A door branched off to the dining room, unlit but clearly well-used. From what Sakura could see of the kitchen, a large, blond boy with spiky hair was standing in front of the refrigerator door almost indecisively.

"What's your name, babe?" asked Kiba, watching her almost lazily through dark eyes.

"Sakura. Haruno Sakura," she answered.

"All right. Don't move from this spot, Sakura," said Kiba as he grabbed her arm, his hand brushing hers and surreptitiously trailing up her side as he led her to a place by the wall. A dog appeared by Kiba's feet, and he dropped his wandering hand to glance at the canine before saying, "Watch her while I get Sasuke, Akamaru." That said, he turned away and bounded up the stairs.

The dog (Akamaru) brushed against Sakura's legs in a friendly way, asking to be petted. Sakura obliged before looking around the room again. A magenta-haired girl and a boy who looked almost like Sasuke were watching her from their seats on the couch, obviously roused from their sleep by the noise Kiba had made in opening the door.

The girl leaned over and stage-whispered in the boy's ear, her hair brushing against his shoulder. Sakura could hear her clearly, so she had no doubt that the girl was only whispering for the benefit of herself and no one else. "Oh, my gods. Look at her, Sai-kun. Isn't she just disgusting, with her hair all messy and her clothes all rumpled like that?"

"I think she is actually quite beautiful," answered Sai in an even tone.

The girl scoffed. "She looks like she ran a marathon or something."

Sakura spoke up, unable to keep silent. "For your information, I _did_ run at least three miles without stopping."

The girl squeaked, scandalized at having been spoken to by Sakura, while the boy, Sai, only gave her a look that was vaguely impressed. But Sakura couldn't be sure, because the expression on the boy's face was almost blank and unreadable. Very, very similar to Sasuke's mask.

The blond boy that Sakura had seen in the kitchen suddenly crossed the room, a glass of water and a handful of birdseed in his hands. He gave her a small smile before stepping lightly up the stairs.

And then Sakura felt Sasuke's eyes on her.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Sasuke. Wake up," said Kiba, waving a hand in his sleeping leader's face. "Come on, there's someone here to see you. Wake up, man."<p>

Sasuke's hand snapped out, slapping Kiba's hand away with harsh force. "What do you want?" he growled in irritation, sitting up and running a hand over his face.

"Some hot chick named Haruno Sakura just asked to come in. She's waitin' for you downstairs," said Kiba.

Sasuke surged out of bed wearing only his boxers. "Sakura is _what?"_

Kiba blinked, disappointed. If Sasuke reacted to a girl's name like that, then that girl was _definitely_ off-limits. "She's downstairs. Says she needs to talk to you about somethin'."

Sasuke pulled on his clothes furiously; he was not used to being disobeyed, especially by a _girl _of all things_._ This settled it. He was kicking her out.

He stormed down the stairs and brushed past Juugo, the larger blond boy immediately swerving to the side in an attempt to avoid the angry Wolf alpha.

Juugo shot a confused glance at Kiba, who simply shrugged as he followed Sasuke down the stairs. He wanted to see how this would play out, this brewing fight between Haruno Sakura and the Wolf leader.

* * *

><p>"I told you not to come," said Sasuke, his voice cold. "Did you not hear me?"<p>

"I did, but—," began Sakura before Sasuke cut her off. Again.

"You didn't listen to me."

"Would you quit stating the obvious? All right, so I didn't listen to you! So what?" she snapped back, losing her patience. Those two guys could be doing _anything_ to Naruto right now, and his bullheaded best friend wouldn't stop to listen to the one person who could give him information.

Her retort had been the wrong thing to say.

Sasuke's eyes blazed, his vision bleeding red as his Sharingan activated. It was his family secret, the one that only he and one other carried now. It only came out when he wanted it to, or when he lost control.

Like now.

"I have no use for a girl who can't listen to orders," said Sasuke, his tomoe spinning wildly. "If you disobey me, you could get one of us killed."

Sakura nearly shoved him in the chest, her temper getting the better of her. All right, so his creepy red eyes scared her a little bit, but so what? It wasn't going to intimidate _her. _"You JERK! I'm trying to tell you something—"

Everyone in the room watching the fight stiffened, their eyes immediately going to Sasuke. No one had ever called him a 'jerk' and lived. Yet.

Sasuke's reaction was disappointing. It was almost like he hadn't heard her. "Get out."

Sakura froze. "What?"

"You heard me. Get out and don't come back."

The magenta-haired girl snickered as Sakura's eyes widened. "Sasuke—"

"Sakura! What are you doing here?" came a voice, exuberant and light.

Sakura turned with obvious relief. "Ino," she managed to say. The shock from the ANBU murders and Naruto's kidnapping were starting to catch up with her.

Ino flounced up to her, her blonde hair shining in the light. "Hey, best friend. You don't look too good," she observed. "You okay, Forehead? What's going on? Why is Sasuke standing in front of you like he's got a stick shoved up his butt?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, his Sharingan fading back into black as he regained control of himself. Yamanaka Ino knew Haruno Sakura?

Kiba's jaw dropped open, although he supposed that he should be grateful. Two hot girls as best friends? Nice. And they both went to Konoha High. Score.

Sakura closed her eyes and counted to ten, trying to calm down. "I need to tell Sasuke something about Naruto. But he's too _hung up_ on obedience issues to listen to me."

Ino turned to Sasuke, her smile taunting. "Well, that certainly sounds like Sasuke."

"Leave, Ino. Go to sleep," Sasuke commanded, wanting her out of the way so that he could end his argument with Sakura as quickly as possible. If he let Ino stay, he knew that, doubtless, Ino would help and defend her friend to her dying breath.

It was one of the reasons he'd let her join the Wolves, but it was also one of the reasons that made her unbelievably annoying. Her sense of loyalty was very, very strong.

If he let her stay, it would end up as more trouble than it was worth, and then he'd end up telling them to 'do whatever you like.' He shot a glance at Kiba, who grinned back.

"Nope, not until you listen to Forehead," spouted Ino, just like Sasuke had expected her to.

Kiba reached forward and snagged her arm, tossing her over his shoulder before she could say anything else. He winced when Ino started pounding him with her fists, but all he said was "Come on, Princess. Bed time."

Sakura only blinked as she watched her best friend being carted off upstairs and, doubtless, deposited in her room by none other than Inuzuka Kiba. They obviously had chemistry, if Ino hadn't managed to break free yet. Maybe... she hadn't wanted to?

When Kiba came downstairs a few minutes later tossing a key up and down in his hand, Sakura knew that Ino had been locked in. An effective strategy in getting Ino out of the way, and Sakura was slightly impressed that Sasuke and Kiba had managed to pull it off. It was so practiced that it seemed like it happened often. Sakura supposed that it probably did.

Suddenly she was reminded of the reason that she was here. She had to tell them about Naruto, dammit!

"Sasuke, I have to tell you—"

"Why are you still here?" he demanded, his eyes midnight-ice. "I told you to get out."

Sakura snapped. "I HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT NARUTO, SO STOP INTERRUPTING ME, YOU STUPID PRICK!"

Instantly Sasuke's body stilled, deceivingly relaxed but still threatening, the way it did before he exploded into action. "What about the dobe?"

Sakura spilled her entire story, and when she'd finished, everyone still downstairs was looking at her with different expressions on their face.

Sasuke's had shut off completely, his eyes an almost, almost dead-black.

Kiba looked openly outraged that one of their own had been kidnapped.

The magenta-haired girl was blinking owlishly, looking like she was still processing the information.

Sai was still, the planes of his body tense.

Kiba was the first to speak, his voice dangerously low with restrained fury. "I bet you anything that it was those stupid Hawks who took him."

Sasuke said nothing, but his eyes caught Sakura's. He was just looking at her, and suddenly Sakura realized that he wasn't really _seeing_ her.

"I'm sorry," she said finally. Sasuke's eyes flickered, and he looked away, almost as if she had returned him to himself.

"Yeah, you _should_ be sorry! If that blond idiot hadn't walked you home, he wouldn't have gotten caught!" screeched the magenta-haired girl, pointing at Sakura accusingly.

"He offered to!" shouted Sakura back. "And those two men wouldn't let me interfere—"

"Oh, yeah?" said the girl, standing up and advancing on Sakura. "Now we have to go looking for him and—"

"Karin, be quiet," interrupted Sasuke, the first words he'd spoken since hearing Sakura's story.

"Oh. Okay, Sasuke-kun!" cooed the magenta-haired girl (Karin, said Sakura to herself). "No need to tell _me_ twice." She shot a pointed look over at Sakura, who scowled.

All right. Since Karin seemed to dislike her already, Sakura was ready. It was _on._

* * *

><p>Sasuke raised his head, his plan of action complete. "Kiba." All of his orders were conveyed by that one-word.<p>

"On it," said Kiba, before sprinting out the door with Akamaru at his heels.

"Where's he going?" asked Sakura, curious in spite of herself.

"Kiba and Akamaru are our best trackers," answered Sasuke, turning away into the dining room and flicking on the lights. "They'll find the dobe."

Sakura followed him into the room, trailed by the others Wolf members. "But those two men said they'd be in touch—"

"Not good enough," interrupted Ino from behind Sakura, obviously having broken out of her room. "Sasuke's worried about Naruto, and he won't settle for anything less than solid intel from someone he trusts." Sasuke shot a glare at Ino, who shrugged. "And you might want to fix the lock on my bedroom door, Mr. Alpha. I kind of broke it," she said simply. "Juugo was listening from the top of the stairs, and he came to tell me what happened, so I really had no choice."

"You are extremely irritating," said Sasuke.

"Thank you!" answered Ino brightly. She turned to Sakura and pulled her over to the blond boy behind her. "Hey, this is Juugo, Forehead. Say 'nice to meet you.'"

"Nice to meet you," said Sakura, grinning at Juugo, who gave her a smile back. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

"Your name means 'cherry blossom?'" asked Sai from beside Karin.

"Yeah." Sakura tilted her head at Sai with a smile. "I heard you're named Sai."

Sai nods at her, his eyes depthless. "I am."

"And I'm Karin," interjected the girl, flinging her hair over her shoulder imperiously. She leaned forward, deliberately intruding on Sakura's personal space. "So what're you still doing here, Haruno? Didn't Sasuke-kun tell you to get out?"

Sakura glanced at Sasuke. She had no idea how to answer Karin, and she didn't want to further jeopardize her chances of joining the Wolves by saying something that Sasuke would rebuke her for later.

Sasuke didn't even look up, deep in thought, but it was obvious that he'd been listening from his answer. "Haruno Sakura is the new omega* of the Wolves," he said.

Sakura was extremely offended. "Omega?" Wasn't 'omega' the term for the weakest link in a wolf pack?

Karin smirked at her coolly. "You're the new omega. Congratulations."

"Back off, Karin," growled Ino, almost shoving the other girl back. "Just because you're not the omega anymore doesn't mean you can pick on her."

This was news to Sakura. "Karin was omega before me? And what does being the omega _entail_, anyway?"

"Being the omega makes you everyone's lackey," said Karin, almost bitterly triumphant. "Until the alpha decides to make it someone else."

Sakura opened her mouth to shout obscenities at Sasuke for literally making her the Wolves' servant, but before she could get any words out, Kiba and Akamaru burst back in through the door.

"The Hawks have him, all right," said Kiba, breathing hard from his run as everyone turned to look at him, Sasuke putting down his pencil to hear what he had to say. "Akamaru tracked his scent through neutral territory and found the dead ANBU Sakura was talking about. And from there, we tracked Naruto to the Hawk side." He glanced at Sasuke, who was unreadable. "We didn't go over the border, but from what we can sense, Naruto is deep inside Hawk territory. _Real_ deep."

* * *

><p><strong>*alpha: a term used to describe the dominant male in a wolf pack<strong>

***beta: a term used to describe the second-in-command in a wolf pack**

***omega: a term used to describe the weakest member (male or female) in a wolf pack**

**a/n: This hit me as I was reading a fanfic about Naruto characters and West Side Story. It was a really good fanfic XD. I don't own EITHER of them, so yeah... If you want the story, it's on my 'fave stories' list by **_**Goldberry**_**.**


	2. Aware

**disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.**

**a/n: Wow. Writing fanfic is surprisingly stressful. (Can you tell that I'm a newbie?) I was re-reading the last chapter, and realized that I felt delightfully wicked about making Karin the omega before Sakura. But don't worry, Karin fans. She'll get her fairy-tale ending too (maybe).**

**NOTICE: There will be more pairings than SasuSaku and NejiTen. I'll give you a heads-up, but keep in mind that this isn't for sure yet: KibaIno, SuiKarin, NaruHina, ShikaTem. **

**Feel free to give me new pairings! I may do a series of oneshots after this, and they'll be random pairings (maybe). Also, quotes and one-word prompts are welcome. I can't say that I'll be able to do them all for sure, but if the plotbunny smacks me, then I'll be sure to try my best!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: Aware<strong>

"Sakura, go to sleep," said Sasuke without looking up.

"Not tired."

"You're being annoying."

"So?"

He glared at her then. "_So,_ stop bothering me. Isn't it enough that I let you stay in the Wolves?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," sighed Sakura. She briefly wondered why he'd allowed her to keep her place.

Being in the Wolves meant that you had been accepted by the alpha, and that was an extremely rare and hard thing to do. It was rumored that there were various reasons why Sasuke turned away people asking to join, and Sakura was still slightly shocked that he had said 'yes' to her this morning, after having listened to her reasons for wanting to join and having taken no more than five minutes to consider it. She had managed to track both him and Naruto down earlier that day before school and had asked him flat-out.

Being suddenly thrust into Wolf life as the omega was still overwhelming, but she was getting used to it, even after less than a day of being accepted.

If you were a Wolf, then that meant that you didn't have much of a family and were willing to do whatever you had to in order to survive on the streets. The same was true for the Hawks. If you were accepted, then you had an adopted 'family' of sorts with the other members, and therefore the rights to live with them in their hideout. It meant that you had a life again.

If someone was rejected by the Wolves and then turned to the Hawks (or vice versa), then they were also discouraged from joining. Neither the Wolves nor the Hawks appreciated being considered second-place. The border lines were clear to everyone in Konoha, gang member or not. To the West were the Wolves, and to the East were the Hawks. In the wide strip down the middle of Konoha the schools, gyms, government buildings, and anything else important were very conveniently located, thereby making it neutral territory. Of course, there were random streets and alleys that had been named neutral as well, but no one used them unless they were being chased by an enemy and wanted a brief respite.

There were other gangs in Konoha too, but it was common knowledge that the Wolves and Hawks were by far the largest and most-powerful ones for various reasons. The two were the only ones that could take each other on and still manage to get back on their feet after a rumble unscathed.

Territory wars were few and far in between, for obvious reasons.

* * *

><p>Sakura watched him roll his eyes at her before continuing to draw his map of Hawk territory, his pencil tracing a dark line of graphite over snowy paper. "What're you doing?"<p>

"Making a map so that we can go get the dobe without running into the Hawk hideout," answered Sasuke irritably. "Now, _go to sleep _before I make you."

"Your arm is still fractured, you know," she remarked casually, resting her elbows on the dining room table. Everyone else was in bed except for her and Sasuke, although she'd seen Juugo come downstairs once or twice to get more birdseed from the kitchen.

Sasuke set his pencil down, visibly seething. "It doesn't hurt. I'm_ fine.__"_

"I'll believe that when I can see it," she said. "Come on, don't be a big baby. I'm just trying to help."

His glare darkened, but he held out his left arm to her wordlessly.

She probed it with her fingertips for a minute before releasing him. "It seems okay."

"I told you nothing was wrong." His voice was smugly triumphant.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him. "Look, Mr. Alpha. You told me that you'd let me join the Wolves because I have medical training. So, I'm putting it to good use, okay?"

Sasuke snorted, turning back to his map. "Go to bed already."

"What are you going to do about Naruto?"

"Nothing. Just go to school and pretend nothing happened."

"The teachers will notice that Naruto's absent," she reminded him.

"Ino will fake a call to the principal saying that the dobe's sick in bed. Happy?"

"Why aren't we doing anything for him? It feels wrong to just do nothing."

"We're not going to confront the Hawks at school, idiot. That'd just get us all put in jail."

"Are you going to do anything at all?"

He glared at her. "Are you questioning my judgment?"

"Yes."

Her blunt answer seemed to mollify him a little. "The school winter dance is tomorrow night after school. We'll settle it with the Hawks then." He rolled up the map and put down his pencil before he spoke. "Wear something nice to the dance. Alpha's orders."

Sakura scowled. "Did you think I was going to wear something ugly?"

"That's not the point."

Sakura sighed at his simple answer and stood, pushing in her chair. "Sai has a reputation at Konoha High for being the artist. So why are _you_ the one making the map?"

"Because I know Hawk territory better than anyone else," said Sasuke. He seemed extremely irritated now. "How many times have I told you to go to sleep already? Fine. I'm giving you an Alpha order: GO. TO. BED, OMEGA."

"It's unfair to pull rank on someone else," Sakura told him before slipping away upstairs, leaving a very annoyed Sasuke to his own devices.

* * *

><p><strong>HAWK TERRITORY, before Naruto's kidnapping and after the leaders' fistfight<strong>

"You need ice, Neji," said Tenten from the couch.

"I know," he muttered, reluctantly reaching out for the ice-pack that Lee offered him. "But it's hardly worth the effort."

Tenten snorted. "Are you kidding me? Uchiha slugged you with everything he had."

Shikamaru blinked, leaning back on the couch next to Tenten. "What got you into a rumble with the Wolf alpha anyway?"

The door opened before Neji could answer and Suigetsu strolled in, lazy as can be.

Everyone was silent. Tenten was looking at Neji, waiting for him to say something because only she and he alone knew the reason why he'd brawled with the Uchiha boy; Shikamaru was completely nonplussed by the events (AKA: he didn't really care, one way or another); Lee was grinning because he didn't know what was going on; Hinata was blinking nervously, waiting for her cousin to give Suigetsu the beating he deserved for being late; Choji was munching on potato chips and steadfastly ignoring them all; and Shino was running a beetle over his fingers disinterestedly.

"Yo, Neji. What's with the glare?" asked Suigetsu when he noticed his leader watching him. He winced when he saw Neji's black eye. "Whoa, ouch. Nice shiner."

Neji straightened, his eyes like death. "I'll answer your question, Shikamaru. It's because of _him."_ He pointed at Suigetsu almost accusingly.

Suigetsu raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, hey, what'd I do?"

"You openly insulted Yamanaka Ino at school this morning, and Inuzuka Kiba of the Wolves was raring for your blood once he'd heard," snapped Neji darkly. "Uchiha told me that, and I have no doubt that both are true."

Suigetsu shrugged. "She called me stupid. She should've known I'd get her back."

"You should know better than to antagonize someone from the Wolves. Perhaps her name for you is accurate."

Suigetsu's eyes flashed. "I don't see why you're making such a big deal out of it, Neji. Inuzuka and I could've handled it between us."

Neji almost snarled his response. "Uchiha approached me after school, and we both agreed that we didn't trust you two to settle the matter without bloodshed. So he and I fought for you and the Inuzuka boy to make sure that there would be no grudges later on."

Suigetsu stiffened. "I can take care of myself."

Neji got to his feet threateningly. "We have enough trouble with the Wolves already. I know you won't listen to me, but you_ will _restrain yourself when it comes to people on their side. Do you understand?"

"Look, man—"

"Do. You. Understand?" repeated Neji shortly.

"Yes, sir," answered Suigetsu with a mocking salute. But Neji knew that that was as much of an agreement from Suigetsu that he'd be able to get, so he eyed him for a moment more before sitting back down. Suigetsu slouched out of the room darkly, making his way to his bedroom to sleep. It was half an hour to one, and everyone else in the gang soon followed suit except for Tenten and Neji.

She was watching him from the couch, her long legs tucked under her.

"What?" asked Neji, wary of her scrutiny.

"I really don't know why I'm in the Hawks," she said finally. "People are dying, the gangs are nothing more than teenage killers, and I don't know how much more of it I can take."

"You're strong, Tenten," answered Neji eventually, unruffled. "I respect you for that. But if you want to leave, I won't stop you." With that, he surged to his feet and turned away, walking toward his room. "Good night, Tenten."

"'Night," she whispered, closing her eyes.

She supposed that his response had been typical Hyuga Neji, still obtuse when it came to subtle hints from the opposite sex. She'd wanted him to tell her that he'd be there for her. And as sappy as that sounded, it was what she'd wanted.

It was what she'd always wanted.

* * *

><p>Sakura walked back to the hideout after school surrounded by Kiba and Ino, who were bickering with each other. They hadn't seemed too worried about what had happened last night, so Sakura had decided that she wouldn't concern herself unduly with it either. It seemed like everyone had simply assumed that all of this would be over by tonight, when they confronted the Hawks. Sakura supposed that they were right, so she ignored the niggling voice in the back of her mind that warned her that this wouldn't be over yet.<p>

Kiba and Ino were still shooting poorly-disguised innuendos at each other. The amount of sexual tension in the air almost made Sakura want to laugh, but at the moment she was too concerned with the dance that would be happening later that night. And with the confrontation between the gang leaders that would doubtless occur afterward.

The Hawks had taken the Wolf alpha's beta, after all. And not to mention the fact that the beta also happened to be the alpha's best friend-rival. All in all, the choice that the Hawks had made in kidnapping Naruto had not been a very good one.

In fact, Sakura was almost sure that it hadn't been Hyuga Neji who had given the order to take him. If it had been him, Sakura knew that he would have been smart enough to cover Naruto's scent so that Kiba wouldn't have been able to track it later. Neji wasn't the Hawk leader for nothing. It put him on equal footing with Sasuke, and that meant that if Sasuke was intelligent enough not to make such a blatant mistake, then Neji was sure to be the same way.

It didn't add up, because it meant that it had been either one of Neji's gang mates or someone else entirely. But Sakura seriously doubted that any of the Hawk members were dumb enough to try and steal away a Wolf on their own without permission from their leader. And from what Sakura knew of Neji (from encounters during school and from stories) he didn't seem like the type of person who would stoop as low as to become a kidnapper, or even order someone else to do it for him. Or even the type of person who would let it slide if he found out that one of his gang mates had acted on their own.

So if it was someone else working for a different organization, then Sakura was lost. She was back to square one.

Sakura hadn't mentioned her thoughts to Sasuke, because she knew that he would have already considered those options and made contingency plans to allow for it.

"I'm just saying that you should be nicer to Hinata," remarked Ino to Kiba loudly, bringing Sakura's thoughts back to Earth.

"Why? She's a Hawk."

Ino smacked him, her backpack slung over one shoulder. "She's not _just_ a Hawk. She's more than that. She's a person."

"It's the same for the other Hawk members," piped up Sakura. "They're people too. Like us."

Ino looked at her like she was crazy. "No, Forehead, I don't think you get it. We're enemies. They're not _people._ They're monsters who'd kill us without a second thought if they caught one of us alone out of our territory."

Sakura fell silent, deciding that her humanitarian side had better shut up if she wanted to keep sane. She'd known since she'd moved to Konoha that it was a city soaked in blood and rampant crime, but to have murder talked about so casually by her best friend was still strange to Sakura. Sure, she and Ino had been friends since before she'd moved to Konoha and they'd both lived out in the country, but she hadn't fully grasped how completely her friend had changed in the two years they'd spent away from one another.

She hadn't known that Ino's family had died soon after her own had.

She hadn't known that Ino had joined the Wolves, seeking comfort and reveling in the sense of 'family' that the others had given her.

She hadn't known that Ino had become willing to take a life if it meant that she could survive.

"You should learn to defend yourself," said Kiba suddenly, startling Sakura. "It'll really help you out in rumbles and out on the streets."

"Ask Sasuke to teach you," remarked Ino, surprisingly having agreed to Kiba's statement. "He's the best fighter out of all of us."

Sakura grimaced. "Sasuke would never teach me. I'm the omega, remember?"

Kiba shrugged. "Wolves always look out for their own. Sasuke knows that better than anyone else because he's the alpha. If you ask 'im nicely, I'm sure he'll teach you _somethin'."_

Ino smiled, bumping into Sakura with her hip playfully. "Besides, I've never seen Sasuke so . . . _tolerant_ of someone else before, especially with the omega. You must have caught his attention somehow. Not _everyone_ gets accepted into the Wolves." She turned to Kiba, not seeing Sakura blink in confusion at her words. "Hey, remember how he was with Karin when she was omega? He was downright _cold."_

Kiba laughed, a rough, warm sound that had always made Sakura want to smile because it was so friendly. "I remember. She was hanging on to her Wolf membership by the tips of her fingers because she pissed off Sasuke so much that he'd threaten to kick her out at least once a day."

"Talking about me?" interrupted a snide voice, barging in between Sakura and Ino. "Oh, hey, omega," said Karin, as if she hadn't noticed Sakura standing there before.

"Leave her alone, Karin," input Juugo, coming up behind her and laying a gentle hand on her arm. "Sakura's new. Please don't fight."

Karin blinked up at him, scowling. "I wasn't fighting."

"It certainly sounded like you were," said Sai from beside Juugo. "I've read that females act as if others aren't there when they feel the need to assert their dominance before a verbal attack."

"Shut _up,_ Sai-kun," hissed Karin, wrenching her arm away from Juugo and stalking off in the direction of the hideout. "No one cares about what you read in your stupid books!"

Sakura smiled at him once Karin was gone. "What do you read, Sai?"

Sai tilted his head at her, considering her question. "Books on people's attitudes, mostly. And some other things."

"I see," said Sakura. "I like reading too—"

"Get back to the Wolf side already," interrupted Sasuke's voice from behind them. "You're all blocking the street, idiots. If I have to remind you all that this is still neutral territory, then everyone's in trouble."

Sakura turned around, unsurprised that Sasuke had managed to approach them from behind without any of them noticing. "Hi, Sasuke."

His onyx eyes caught hers, studying her before his mouth suddenly twitched into a smirk. "Hey, omega." Sakura flushed angrily, ready to let him have it for calling her that, until he very abruptly turned to Ino and ordered, "Help her get ready for the dance. Make sure she stands out."

Ino sighed in exasperation, her eyes already flicking up and down Sakura to make the right calculations. "I know the drill, Sasuke."

Sasuke pushed past them all, his shoulder pressing briefly against Sakura's as he moved her out of his way. "Come on. Everyone needs to finish their homework if they want to go tonight."

"He sounds like a dad," whispered Ino to Sakura in amusement. "He always does."

"I heard that," snapped Sasuke.

* * *

><p>"What did Sasuke mean by making sure I stand out?" asked Sakura in the safety of Ino and hers shared bedroom at the hideout. Ino was rummaging in the closet, looking for clothes for the dance. It was nearly two hours until they were supposed to arrive, and Sakura and Ino had just finished their homework.<p>

"You're the new girl," answered Ino, cursing as she dropped a clothes hanger on her foot. "He wants to let the Hawks know that you're part of the Wolves now. So he wants to make sure that they notice you."

"Neji already knows," said Sakura from her seat on Ino's bed. For now, she was sleeping on a futon on the floor, although Ino had assured her last night that Juugo was working on finding or building her her own bed as soon as possible. "He saw me when he and Sasuke were fighting yesterday night."

"But the rest of his gang doesn't," reminded Ino, emerging from the closet with three dresses in her hand. She held them up, her grin wicked. "So, Forehead? Green, red, or white?"

Sakura wrinkled her nose at the dresses. They were a little too immodest for her taste; they might look good on Ino, but they certainly wouldn't suit her. "Do you have any other choices?"

"Nope," said Ino, tossing the dresses at her. "Those are the only ones I have in your size. Karin might have more, but I doubt you'd want to—"

"No, no, these are good," said Sakura quickly. "I don't need Karin's help."

Ino smirked at her. "Thought so."

Sakura fingered one of the dresses, running her hand over the light green silk. It was the same color as her eyes. "Do you have black, Ino-pig?"

Ino flopped down onto the carpet, yawning. "I do, but that'll hardly make you stand out."

Sakura moved the dresses off her lap and grinned at her friend. "What're _you_ wearing to the dance?"

Ino grinned back. "I'll show you. Try not to drop dead in shock." She bounced to her feet and to the closet, taking out an extremely low-cut metallic-gold dress embroidered with glittering swirl-designs. She dangled it in front of Sakura, whose jaw had dropped. "Like it?"

Sakura blinked. "I suppose . . . so?"

Ino laughed at her expression before putting away the dress. "Okay, your turn, Forehead," she declared. "Take your pick." She gestured at the three dresses lying on her bed next to Sakura. "Choose."

Sakura tilted her head, considering the three different styles. The elegant, floor-length, vibrant green was the one she liked the most, but the short, ruffly scarlet red was a close second. It was all about what impression she wanted to make, Sakura mused.

"I think you'd look good in white," remarked Ino, watching her friend try and decide. The ivory dress was simple, with a high waist and long sleeves. It practically screamed: _SPILL PUNCH ON ME. I DARE YOU. _Sakura didn't want to test her luck.

"I'd look like some sort of sacrifice," sighed Sakura in response. "There's no way."

"The green matches your eyes," offered Ino.

"I know." Sakura picked up the green dress and set it aside. "Fine. Green it is."

* * *

><p>Kiba whistled, his dark eyes flicking up and down Ino and Sakura as they came down the stairs. "Take it easy, girls. Try not to give us guys <em>too<em> many nosebleeds."

Ino walked right up to him, her gold dress swishing around her long legs. "I'll try my best," she purred, sliding her arms over his shoulders. She toyed with his black vest, flicking her fingers over the ebony material.

Kiba's hands found her waist and he grinned. "Hey, now. Down, Ino."

"Oh, please," snapped Karin from her spot next to Juugo. Her sequined black dress made her magenta hair stand out next to Juugo's white dress shirt. "You're only encouraging her, Kiba."

"I think that Karin is right," input Sai, looking impossibly formal in a classic black suit. It seemed like no one had told him that no one wore those to dances anymore, especially to semi-formal ones like the one tonight. "I've read that it is unwise to say something that you don't mean."

"Get moving," commanded Sasuke from next to Sai, his black dress shirt accented by a silver tie and his hair as messy as usual. "We're meeting the Hawks in front of the gym." He shot them all a look that was very unambiguous about being obeyed. "Don't antagonize them in any way, you hear?"

* * *

><p><strong>an: I love author's notes. I can be totally random and not get yelled at by my "editors"... Oh, and I'm really sorry about not focusing on the Hawk gang before this. But right now, I'm more of a SasuSaku fan, so that's why. But that doesn't really give me much of an excuse, so I'm warning you now: THERE WILL BE MORE ON THE WOLVES THAN THERE IS ON THE HAWKS. Just saying. :)**

**Oh, and in this story, they're all in high school. They're all about juniors now, and it's the winter dance of the year. Of course, Neji, Tenten, and Lee are a year older than them (aka: seniors). And for any of you who are wondering when Kisame and his partner (if you haven't figured out who his partner is yet, then I have nothing to say to you guys... haha...) are going to come back, just hang on!**

**AND (sorry about all my ramblings) I think it's kind of sad how there's a 2:1 boy to girl ratio. That means there can't be that many pairings...**

**Read and review? Thanks!**


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